Firstly, sterilise your glass jar and set aside.

Pour six cups of boiling water into your jar and stir in your sugar till it dissolves.

Add the tea bags and let them steep for 15 minutes or more, then remove and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, add the Scoby, and ideally, ½ cup of kombucha tea from a previous batch. If you don’t have this, you can use 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.

Cover the mouth of the jar with a breathable fabric held in place with a rubber band.

Place your jar in a warm position away from direct sunlight. Leave it to ferment for at least 5 days, longer if you are in a cooler climate.

After this point, you can taste test to see how the ferment is going. Stick a clean paper straw into the jar, past the scoby, and put your finger over the other end to trap some liquid in there.

It should have a more vinegar like taste than a sweet taste.

Carefully remove the scoby and put him in a bowl with ½ a cup of the liquid – now you have what you need to make the next batch.

You can stop here, but I suggest a second ferment for a better taste.

Decant the tea into a new bottle, one that can easily store in the fridge.

Add some flavouring to the tea, and a small amount of sugar. My favourite combination is one split vanilla bean, a couple of strawberries, a few slices of freshly peeled ginger, and a small teaspoon of raw honey.

Cap the lid and leave it to ferment again at room temperature for another week.

You may notice some new scoby action floating near the top. That’s perfectly ok. You may also need to ‘burp’ the jar every so often, as gases will be produced as the bacteria gobble up the sugar.

After this second fermentation period, you can strain or leave in your flavourings, then store in the fridge.

I like to enjoy a small glass on an empty stomach, inbetween meals.